Sparkling wine was first produced in 1872 in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (province of Barcelona) in north-east Spain in what is now the DO area of Penedès by Josep (José) Raventós i Fatjó (1816-1885). He is therefore considered to be the creator of the first sparkling wine produced in Spain using the traditional method. However, Antoni Galí Comas, who has largely been forgotten today, is said to have experimented with the production of sparkling wine as early as 1850.

Luis Justo y Villanueva (1834-1880), laboratory director of the Sant Isidre Agricultural Institute, who taught the champagne method to several producers, is also credited. At a competition in Barcelona in 1872, three of his students presented sparkling wines. However, it is undisputed that José Raventós, as head of the Codorníu cava house, was the first to produce sparkling wine from the now typical Parellada, Xarello and Macabeo grape varieties, which he launched on the market in 1879. In doing so, he laid the foundations for the Cava industry in Spain.
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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)